AP lang argumetative essay terms

paradox

a statement that seems self-contradictory but is true (less is more)

oxymoron

a phrase with two words that contradict each other (bittersweet)

dramatic irony

when at least 1 character doesn’t know something the audience does

verbal irony

when is something is said or written but is not intended to be taken literally

sarcasm

a form of verbal irony that is meant to be mean or mocking

situational irony

when the opposite of what is expected happens

cosmic irony

a form of situational irony that occurs without any human choice/intervention

ambiguity

when a statement/word/image is intentionally unclear or open to multiple interpretations

wit

written in a clever or funny way

satire

writing that is often funny/full of irony and always meant to criticize

declarative sentence

statement of fact, often ends with a period

telegraphic sentence

very short, to the point

imperative sentence

a command, used to make a point or show authority

interrogative sentence

a question, forces the audience to choose a side

exclamatory sentence

ends with exclamation mark, to express strong emotions

simple sentence

just one independent clause

compound sentence

2+ independent clauses

complex sentence

1 independent clause, 1+ dependent clauses

compound-complex sentence

2+ dependent clauses, 1+ independent clause

freight train/cumulative setence

multiple independent clauses linked together with conjunctions, used to describe scenes without making them in accordance with surrounding events, like daydreaming

loose sentence

independent clause at the beginning, detail afterwards

periodic sentence

detail preceding the independent clause at the end

balanced sentence

second half mirrors the first half, makes the author seem put together and planned out, more persuasive

convoluted/split sentence

the subject and verb are separated

sentence fragment

incomplete sentence

run-on sentence

goes on too long without proper punctuation, can emphasize a point or just confuse the reader